KUCHING, March 5: Behind semi-closed doors, a Green Pocket Project to revamp the old Ting and Ting Supermarket into a community art space and creative incubator known as Think and Tink has been brewing, and the doors are about to be opened to the public.
Founder of Borneo Laboratory, Wendy Teo, who has brought to life this project with the support of the Cultural Economy Development Agency (CENDANA) said the new roof space of the building featuring an urban vertical garden will soon be seen as a new landmark in Kuching city.
Wendy Teo Atelier as the designer, the vertical garden was made to have two installations namely the Time Tunnel, a herb garden running the length of Think and Tink, and the Rooftop Greenhouse for vegetables and other plants.
The Green Pocket Project not only aims to inspire a movement in urban farming as a means to fill the city’s collective food bank, but she said Borneo Laboratory is also focusing on ideas of sustainability and community participation through the plastic waste repurposing project.
By turning single-use containers into planters for vegetables and herbs as part of the #plantlifefromplastic campaign, she said 1,500 bottles of 1.5-litre size needed to be collected by mid of March.
Thus, she is calling upon the public to donate their plastic waste, dropping it either at Think and Tink or in one of their five convenient collection points at Vivacity Megamall, The Spring, Hock Lee Centre, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, Segi College Sarawak, and UCSI Sarawak starting March 6.
“This idea had been brewing since before the pandemic but the events of the last year have brought its importance into sharp focus.
“Health and hygiene are high on everyone’s agenda at the moment, but the pandemic has also encouraged many of us to think deeply about a range of other issues: about our relationship with our environment, about our connection to the people around us, about the very pace and purpose of our own lives.
“We hope this project will inspire others to consider how the community can work together tangibly to bring the idea of self-sustainability into reality,” she remarked in a statement today.
Noting the importance of community participation, Teo said help is needed from the lots of Kuchingites as talents in gardening, baking or arts and crafts uncovered during this Covid-19 pandemic are much welcome as part of their project.
If situation permits, she noted, their tentative aim is to open Think and Tink to the public in mid of April while the repurposing of plastic waste continues.
“If you want to be part of this movement, please either donate your waste or provide your time and skill as one of our vendors or volunteers.
“For more information, please visit Borneo Laboratory’s Facebook at Borneo Art Collective and Instagram at Borneo Laboratory. Alternatively, contact our Project Manager Tham at 016-2983987 or write to blablearning@gmail.com,” she urged.—DayakDaily
